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Ohio Gov. John Kasich Signs Medical Cannabis Bill Into Law

Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed House Bill 523 into law today, putting to rest speculation on whether medical marijuana will be coming to the Buckeye State.

The bill marks a historic new chapter for the state, which has never had any form of legal medical cannabis, although the bill has been criticized by advocates as not going far enough for patients. The new law stipulates that qualified patients may possess only certain forms of medical cannabis, such as pills, oils, edibles, tinctures and raw flower, but prohibits the smoking of cannabis.

Ohioans for Medical Marijuana, a local cannabis group backed by the Marijuana Policy Project, announced several days after the bill sailed through the House on a 71–26 vote, that they would be abandoning their initial plan to gather the more than 300,000 signatures needed for a November push, despite objections to the bill’s finer details. The group admitted that the legislation was, however, "a step forward."

The bill has been sitting on the desk of Gov. Kasich since it cleared the House at the end of May and supporters wondered whether he would put his official seal of approval on the bill.

The bill will go into effect within 90 days, making it legal to possess medical cannabis for qualified patients by September 6th, although the Ohio State Pharmacy board, the State Medical Board and the Department of Commerce will still be tasked with overseeing and regulating the system of dispensaries in the state. Dispensaries are not expected to be operational for about two years.

The bill will allow the use of medicinal cannabis by patients who suffer from the following qualifying conditions:

HIV/AIDS

Alzheimer’s disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Cancer

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Crohn’s disease

Epilepsy or other seizure disorders

Fibromyalgia

Glaucoma

Hepatitis C

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Multiple sclerosis

Pain that is either:

Chronic and severe

Intractable

Parkinson’s disease

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Sickle cell anemia

Spinal cord disease or injury

Traumatic brain injury

Ulcerative colitis

The bill will officially make Ohio the 25th U.S. state to legalize medical marijuana. That's right: Half of all states in the U.S. now have medical cannabis laws on the books.

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